North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Recruiting 101 With More Ex-Pack Players
2/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TIM PEELER
Jones grew up in a football family, watching his father, Dave Jones, coach at
He came to NC State in 1987 And played for four years under Dick Sheridan, before becoming a second-round pick of the Phoenix Cardinals in 1991. He spent nine years in the NFL, and twice played in the Super Bowl, in 1997 with the New England Patriots and in 2000 with the Tennessee Titans. For the last seven years, he has been a volunteer high school coach near
But he also brings a parent’s perspective to the recruiting game. His son, Steven, just graduated from the
White got his start in college football from the same place he got his first scholarship offer from former NC State assistant Kent Briggs. After three years in the NFL, including the 2001 and 2002 seasons with the New York Giants, White was hired by Briggs at
He was there for two years, before moving to
Both Jones and White shared their thoughts about recruiting in 2008, their memories of NC State and their advice to those players who might be recruited in the future.
MIKE JONES
9-year NFL veteran
7-year volunteer high school coach
How different is recruiting these days? As opposed to when I came out, it is so different. The Internet plays such a huge factor. I have a nephew that is being recruited down in
My son just graduated from
These kids are on the Internet and they see the different ratings that are on different websites. Those things affect their psyche and things like that.
Do the recruiting sites give players an over-inflated opinion of themselves? I am sure some of them do. I think they play too big a role in the recruiting game. The kids are going to pick the school that is most important to him. You just get an overwhelming vibe that some websites are pulling for certain schools. I watched my nephew who is at
Would those things have influenced you when your decision coming out of high school? Me, personally, the way I was brought up, it wouldn’t have made a difference to me, because I just felt blessed to even have the opportunity to go somewhere to play ball. The game of college football is on a much higher platform than it was 20 years ago.
Are kids today better equipped to handle the recruiting process? It’s hard to make that determination. I will say that kids are savvy enough to navigate what is really important and what really matters to them. But they are still in a society where they are judged by their peers. Their peers read these websites and listen to these radio shows and watch shows on cable about recruiting. No matter what they think about their ability to play, they are still aware of what people are saying about them, regardless of how they are brought up.
Is there any advice you gave to your son or nephew or one of your players about how to look for a school? I told them to find the five or six things that are important to them and as they go around and visit these schools, and rate each one. A lot of these programs on the surface look the same. But as you get inside with the people, you get a feel for the personalities that you could potentially be around for the next five years, those things were important for eliminating some people out of the race. You haveto find those five or six things that are really important. Not just the eye candy the weight rooms, the living quarters, the televisions. You have to look at what kind of guys you are going to be around, the character of the people who are already there in your position group. Those are the things, in the end, that will be most important.
CLAYTON WHITE
Defensive backs assistant
How hectic is your life right now, with National Signing Day on its way? It does get kind of hectic, especially when you have kids you are not quite sure about. Some of them are still wavering. It’s late at this point in time. You never really know until that fax comes in. You might be 99.9 percent sure a kid is coming, but that one-tenth of one percent will keep you awake at night. There will be an awful lot of coaches waiting by their fax machines early Wednesday morning.
What’s different now as opposed to when you were a player? The biggest difference is all the recruiting services that are out there. That wasn’t out there when I was coming out of high school in 1996. A kid can promote himself now on a website a lot faster than I could back then. He can play a game on a Friday night and get the video uploaded for everyone in the country to see the next morning. They can update their highlight tapes immediately. There is the Internet and the professional services. And there are all the early commitments that people are getting now.
That’s all probably great as a player, but as a coach is all that readily available information truly helpful? It does help me find those kids whose coaches don’t send in film. They may not have enough film to send to every school in the country. We might not be one of those schools that gets his film. But I can go right on the Internet and download all of his highlights and check the kid out. Having the information is great. What coaches do complain about is when the Internet sites start trying to rate these guys with four or five stars. They may not know what they are talking about. I think that sometimes gets out of control.
What kind of challenges do the Internet rankings present for coaches? It does present some challenges. Deep down you have your own personal feelings about the way a kid plays. Someone else, who is not a coach, might rate that kid higher and other coaches will use that against you. I just have to trust my judgment and our evaluation skills as a staff.
What do you remember about your decision to come to NC State? I know I made the right choice, no doubt about it. I had a great career and I loved it there. I met my wife there. I kind of had my mind set on where I wanted to go. I had some offers throughout the ACC. I was waiting for the right offer to come along. I grew up a Duke basketball fan, so it was kind of hard to turn Duke down. But I knew NC State was exactly where I wanted to be. Coach O’Cain and Robbie Caldwell and those guys were great to me.
What advice do you give to the kids you are recruiting? It’s kind of tough. All situations are different. Players have to make sure the situation is right for them. They have to definitely make sure they can see themselves there for the next four to five years. They have to look into academics, which is something that is overlooked a lot. You have to look at a school’s graduation rate for its football players. It will give you an idea of the mindset they have for their football players. I know a lot of the players that I played with didn’t graduate. I think it is sad that some people didn’t take a look at that. Some people need more support than others. I knew I was going to graduate, no matter what. Some people weren’t as sure. Make sure you enjoy the coaches and players, and the academics.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
